REPORT TITLE:
Real Property Taxes


DESCRIPTION:
Prohibits city and county of Honolulu from raising real property
taxes until state auditor can conduct an audit; requires state
auditor to audit the department of finance of the city and county
of Honolulu and to report to the legislature and the mayor and
city council of Honolulu.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           373
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO OPERATIONS OF THE REAL PROPERTY TAX ASSESSMENT
   DIVISION. 


BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that in 1995 the real
 
 2 property tax assessments for Waikiki and downtown, Honolulu
 
 3 properties could have been tampered with.  The legislature
 
 4 further finds that future tampering may be a distinct possibility
 
 5 due to Honolulu's reported budget deficit of $130,000,000.
 
 6 Tampering of real property tax records and assessments results in
 
 7 inequitable and unfair assessments and payments by landowners and
 
 8 homeowners.
 
 9      The legislature further finds that the city and county of
 
10 Honolulu should have, in its operations, proper administrative,
 
11 audit, and accounting controls over its real property tax
 
12 assessment system.
 
13      The purpose of this Act is to require the state auditor to
 
14 conduct an audit of the operations of the real property
 
15 assessment division of the department of finance of the city and
 
16 county of Honolulu.
 
17      SECTION 2.  The state auditor, pursuant to section 23-4(a),
 
18 Hawaii Revised Statutes, shall conduct an audit of the real
 
19 property tax assessment division of the department of finance of
 

 
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                                     S.B. NO.           373
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 the city and county of Honolulu to discover evidence of any
 
 2 unauthorized, illegal, irregular, or improper financial
 
 3 administrative operations, including evidence of tampering with
 
 4 records or assessment valuations, or both.  The audit shall
 
 5 include an opinion on whether or not the real property tax
 
 6 valuations are fair, make recommendations for proper controls
 
 7 over records to prevent the changing of computations, and
 
 8 evaluate the productivity and efficiency of the operations of the
 
 9 department of finance.  The state auditor shall contract with a
 
10 certified public accounting firm to conduct the audit.
 
11      SECTION 3.  The state auditor shall report to the
 
12 legislature and to the mayor and city council of the city and
 
13 county of Honolulu on the results of the audit conducted pursuant
 
14 to this Act no later than October 1, 1999.
 
15      SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
 
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17                           INTRODUCED BY:  _______________________